Pergo AB parent company Pleiderer Aktiengesellschaft, which
purchased the laminate maker earlier this year, said it has launched an
Intellectual Property Business Unit to manage Pergo’s intellectual assets. This
includes more than 450 granted patents and pending patents, 300 registered
trademarks and trademark applications, and an extensive list of copyrights and
designs, according to the company. Pergo locking systems, its embossed in
register texturing and end block matching and 4in1 molding technologies are
also protected.
“Pergo has for too long been a
slumbering giant in the intellectual property field; this will all change now,”
said Frida Rosenholm, Pergo’s general counsel and head of the newly created
Intellectual Property unit. “For the first time in Pergo’s history we have a
pronounced, aggressive intellectual property strategy and owners that are
willing to invest in the utilization and enforcement of the intellectual
property portfolio.
“It will no longer be possible to
utilize Pergo’s pioneering innovations without paying royalties to Pergo,”
Rosenholm added.
A pioneer in the development
of laminate flooring, Pergo launched its product in Europe during the
1980s and began selling its products in the US in 1994 and in Asia the
following year. The company’s products have been marketed under the Pergo brand
since 1989 and under the SimpleSolutions brand since 2005.